SOME MORE KIWI SOUL

Artist: THE AD LIBS; Title: THE BOY FROM NEW YORK CITY; Label: PYE; Format: 7"; Cat. No.: BC-102; Year: 1965; Country: NEW ZEALAND

Carrying on the with Soul stuff issued in New Zealand - today's post features The Ad Libs wonderful debut from 1964, released on Leiber & Stoller's Blue Cat label - and via Pye in the UK, as well as in New Zealand where this copy originated.  And from the record library of New Zealand's equivalent of the BBC!

The A Side is the downright brilliant "Boy From New York City" with a suberb lead vocal by Mary Ann Thomas. What I really love it is the way it weaves in elements of Doo-Wop into the background the belting souful lead vocal. And it's one of those tracks that typifies the emerging Girl Group sound of the mid 60's. See The Shirelles output for further fine examples of the genre!

The flip side gives you "Kicked Around" - another good tune, this time with a more jazzy vibe to it. It's one of those tracks that's indebted to the Shirelles, and Mary Ann Thomas does sound a lot like Shirley Owens on this.  But given that Lieber & Stoller were also writing & producing stuff for the Shirelles around this time maybe that should come as that much of a surprise!

KIWI SOUL

Artist: SAM COOKE & BUMPS BLACKWELL ORCHESTRA; Title: YOU SEND ME; Label: LONDON; Format: 7"; Cat. No.: 45-NZ.281; Year: 1958; Country: NEW ZEALAND

Looking today at this New Zealand issued classic from Sam Cooke - so we're back onto the international pressings again vinyl fans!

The A Side is the classic and sublime early Soul that is "You Send Me" - and interesting it's co-credited to Bumps Blackwell's Orchestra, which as far as I remember isn't the case on the UK issued singles from the same period.  I seem to remember that I can across this one Brighton, and bought at the same time as a couple of singles by The Drifters.

The B Side is another good one - this rather good version of "Summertime" - and like the A Side well worth checking out! It's interesting to see how Sam Cooke took what started out as almost classical piece in Gershwin's black opera 'Porgy & Bess', and transformed it into this piece of Soul music. It's one of Sam Cooke's tunes that doesn't get heard too often these day, which is a bit of a shame.

The other thing I noticed with this is it's on Decca's London imprint (which was their main outlet of blues R'n'B, and what we'd later regard as Soul) but here pressed up their behalf by HMV in New Zealand - one of those quirky things that being a record collector is about to a level.